Current Affairs 29th July 2016

International Tiger Day being observed today

i. Every year 29th July is celebrated as the International Tiger Day.

ii. The day is celebrated to raise awareness for tiger conservation and to give worldwide attention to the preservation of tigers. 

Government forms 'Disha' for timely implementation of Central Schemes

i. The Centre has announced the formation of District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DDCMC) in place of the District Vigilance and Monitoring Committee (DVMC) and to be named Disha for effective implementation of Central government schemes.

ii. The main purpose of this Disha committee will be to coordinate with Central and state governments and local Panchayats for successful and timely implementation of the schemes. Instruction has been issued to hold the first meeting of DISHA on 13th of next month. The meeting of the committee once in every Quarter has been made mandatory.

BCCI chief Anurag Thakur joins Territorial Army as Lieutenant

OKI installs more than 600 recycling ATMs for State Bank of India

i. Japanese payments company OKI has installed 600 automatic teller machines with cash recycling abilities for country's largest lender State Bank of India across the country

India and Bangladesh agree on anti-terror cooperation

CK Mishra Appointed New Health Secretary

T Nanda Kumar resigns as NDDB chairman

i. T Nanda Kumar has resigned as chairman of Gujarat-based National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) from August 1, about 30 months ahead of the end of his tenure.

First woman head of aviation regulator moves out

i. The first woman chief of aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) M Sathiyavathy was named as new Union Labour Secretary.

Four new writers get Jananpith 'Navlekhan' award

i. Four new writers have got the Bharatiya Jnanpith's 11th Navlekhan award for the year 2015 in a ceremony held in New Delhi. Out of these four, three are from Rajasthan. 

ii. The awardees were chosen by a selection panel headed by senior writer and journalist Madhusudan Anand, comprising eminent literary figures Vishnu Nagar, Govind Prasad and Om Nischal. 

iii. Amlendu Tiwari and Balram Kawant were awarded for their novels 'Parityakt', and 'Sara Morila,' while Om Naagar and Tasneem Khan were awarded for their non-fictions 'Nib Ke Chire Se' and 'Yeh Mere Rahnuma' respectively.

Railway Board Chairman, AK Mital, gets 2-year extension

New Chief Justice of Patna HC sworn in
i. Justice Iqbal Ahmed Ansari was sworn in as the Chief Justice of Patna High Court.

A10 Networks acquires cloud firm Appcito
i. US-based A10 Networks, an application networking and security company has announced the acquisition of Appcito.

Brazilian scientists discover another type of Zika-transmitting mosquito
i. Brazilian scientists have identified another type of Zika-transmitting mosquito, responsible for over 1,700 cases of microcephaly in newborns in the South American country since October 2015.

James Alan McPherson Passes Away

i. American author James Alan McPherson has passed away in Iowa City, U.S. He was 72 years old.

ii. He was the first black author to receive the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1978.

Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger retires
i. German professional footballer, Bastian Schweinsteiger has retired from the national team, marking the end of a glittering international football career.